Louise Johnson Pridgeon
The first practicing African American woman lawyer in Cleveland, and was also active in welfare work and politics.
Tag Archives: African Descent
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Sherlie Hereford Rainey
Sherlie Hereford Rainey (3 Feb. 1939-7 Aug. 1992), mayor of Woodmere (1985-89), was the first African-American woman to hold a mayoral position in Cuyahoga County. Also an athlete, Rainey set an American record for the standing long jump (1958) and was National Amateur Athletic Union champion of that event for 3 years. She was elected to the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.
Dr A Grace Lee Mims
Educator, a musician, and an advocate for African-American culture.
Victoria Earle Matthews
A writer, activist, club woman, and social worker, Victoria Earle Matthews dedicated herself to community uplift, civil rights, and helping others.
Tiffany Sturdivant
Executive director of Appalshop arts center
Dawn Porter
Despite having directed or produced more than a dozen documentaries, Dawn Porter did not begin her career thinking she’d end up in film.
Zilla Mays
Gospel and R&B singer and popular radio DJ
Butterfly McQueen
For most of her film career, McQueen was typecast as a servant, but when those roles became scant in Hollywood during the 1950s, she pursued jobs in musical theater, television, and radio. She won the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Award in 1975 and an Emmy Award for her role in the children’s television special The Seven Wishes of Joanna Peabody (1979).
Sarah J Rudolph
Sarah J. Rudolph lost her right eye and her little sister, Addie Mae Collins, in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.
Shirley Caesar
The “First Lady of Gospel,” she has received 10 Grammy Awards, 12 Stellar Awards, and 17 Dove Awards, but her commitment to her church remains paramount. Of her call to the ministry, she said, “I am called to be a preacher-evangelist first, and a singer second.”